A navigational device (e.g., mouse or pointing device) is universally used in computing to navigate and effect selection of graphical representations on a computer display. Early navigation devices used two external perpendicular gear wheels to effect navigation. Later versions replaced the external gear wheels with a single ball capable of rotating in any direction. In this ball design, motion could be detected via internally mounted wheels within the device body and translated into a movement of a cursor on a computer display.
Another common type of navigation device is the track ball. Effectively, a track ball can be described as an inverted mouse. A trackball is a special type of pointing device having a ball housed in a socket and containing sensors that detect rotation of the ball about two axes. In operation, a user can roll the ball with a thumb, finger, or the palm of their hand to move a cursor relative to a display. Track balls are common where there is limited desk space on which to use a mouse. For example, computer-aided design (CAD) workspaces are frequently equipped with track ball navigation devices.
More recently, navigation devices that employ optical sensing technologies have emerged. These navigation devices employ optical sensors on the underside of the device together with LEDs (light emitting diodes) to illuminate a surface. Other technological developments employ laser diodes in the place of an LED source. Although earlier optical navigation devices could only be used on a metallic surface, usually imprinted with a grid pattern, enhancements in circuit design made it possible to employ more powerful image processing chips in connection with the devices. These more powerful chips enable the optical navigation devices to be used on any device material and to translate the movement of the navigation device into a movement of a cursor or pointer on a computer display.
Modern optical navigation devices can snap images of a surface on which the device is employed. These images can then be processed and translated into a relative spatial movement of a cursor or pointer on a computer display.
Today, cellular telephones running on state-of-the-art operating systems have increased computing power in hardware and increased features in software in relation to earlier technologies. For instance, cellular telephones are often equipped with built-in digital image capture devices (e.g., cameras) and microphones together with computing functionalities of personal digital assistants (PDAs). Since these devices combine the functionality of cellular phones with the functionality of PDAs, they are commonly referred to as “smartphones.” The hardware and software features available in these smartphones and similar technologically capable devices provide developers the capability and flexibility to build applications through a versatile platform. The increasing market penetration of these portable devices (e.g., PDAs) inspires programmers to build applications, games, ring-tones, etc. for these smart-phones.
As described above, many smartphones have built-in digital still cameras capable of generating video graphics array (VGA) quality pictures having 640×480 pixel resolution. Several higher-end smart-phones, especially those developed in the European and Asian markets, are capable of taking pictures of 1 Mega-pixel resolution and higher. With the technological advances in handheld and portable devices, there is an ongoing and increasing need to maximize the benefit of these continually emerging technologies.
The number of peripherals that mobile workers carry in order to perform their job at maximum efficiency is not optimal. For example, a device inventory that a business professional carries today often includes a cellular telephone or smartphone, a PDA, a laptop and an external computer mouse. Eliminating a commonly used item such as an external computer mouse from a mobile workers bag would potentially alleviate some level of stress in completing computer related tasks outside of the workplace.
To this end, there is a substantial unmet need to reduce the number of devices and to combine and/or integrate functionality of the numerous devices carried by the business professional.